Cooler door shelf device with raised panels

ABSTRACT

A shelf device for an inside surface of a cooler door has a tray with a bottom panel, opposed front and rear panels connected to and extending upward from the bottom panel, and opposed end panels connected to and extending upward from the bottom panel and extending from the front panel toward the rear panel. The rear panel has a front face opposite the front panel and a rear face. A partition adjacent the front panel divides the bottom panel into a plurality of compartments. Openings in tray flanges receive hooks or studs for attaching the tray to the inside surface of the cooler door.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is related to co-pending application Ser. No.10/929,975 filed Aug. 20, 2004 entitled “Cooler Door Shelf Device WithRemovable Product Panel” and to co-filed application Ser. No. ______,entitled “Cooler Door Shelf Device With Stick-On Display Panels”.

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates generally to a cooler, and, more particularly, toa door shelf device for a transparent cooler door.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Upright coolers in supermarkets and convenience stores typically havetransparent glass doors so that the products inside are visible. It isnow common to use the inside of the door for shelving as is done inhousehold refrigerators. Door shelving fits against the door so that theproduct containers are visible, however the product labels do not alwaysface forward for easy identification of the product. Some shelves have asmall area for affixing product identification, but such small areaslack the impact needed, especially for impulse purchases. Accordingly,it will be appreciated that it would be highly desirable to have a doorshelf device with a large area for product labeling and identification.

Sometimes, a consumer will remove an article or articles from the doorshelf device with the remaining articles left on the shelf in the coolermaking it more difficult to identify the product. Where all the productsare the same as the identification on the shelf device, there is littleconfusion. However, when the cooler contains several different products,the shelf device labeling does not always coincide with what is on theshelf. Accordingly, it will be appreciated that it would be highlydesirable to have a door shelf device that identifies the product behindit on the cooler shelf.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to overcoming one or more of theproblems set forth above. Briefly summarized, according to the presentinvention a shelf device for mounting on an inside surface of a coolerdoor comprises a tray and a partition. The tray has a bottom panel,opposed front and rear panels connected to and extending upward from thebottom panel, and opposed end panels connected to and extending upwardfrom the bottom panel and extending from the front panel toward the rearpanel.

A partition positioned adjacent the front panel divides the bottom panelinto a plurality of compartments to fit the configuration of articlestherein. Slots in the partition facilitate providing an indication ofthe product in the compartment and on the shelf behind the compartment.

A left flange is attached to the left end panel adjacent the rear panelabove the bottom panel and a right flange is attached to the right endpanel adjacent the rear panel above the bottom panel. Each flange has atleast one opening.

The tray is attached to the inside surface of the cooler door usingsuction cups with a protrusion. The protrusions fit through the openingsin the flanges in the tray to anchor the tray to the door. The shelfdevice utilizes space in the cooler that would otherwise be wasted andincreases visual appeal product identification at the door where it ismore readily seen than that on the containers in the cooler.

These and other aspects, objects, features and advantages of the presentinvention will be more clearly understood and appreciated from a reviewof the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments andappended claims, and by reference to the accompanying drawings

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of a shelf device for attaching tothe inside surface of an upright cooler door according to the presentinvention,

FIG. 2 is a diagrammatic top view of the shelf device of FIG. 1.attached to the inside surface of an upright cooler door.

FIG. 3 is a diagrammatic front view of the shelf device of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a diagrammatic sectional view taken along line 4-4 of FIG. 3.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring to FIGS. 1-4, a shelf device 10 is attached to an insidesurface of an upright cooler door 12. Articles, such as beveragecontainers for example, can be placed on shelf device 10 for easyviewing through the cooler door 12 which minimizes the need to open thedoor to view the contents. It also utilizes the door space for storingadditional product in a space that would otherwise be wasted.

Shelf device 10 has a tray 14 with a bottom panel 16, opposed front andrear panels 18, 20 connected to bottom panel 16, and opposed left andright end panels 22, 24 connected to bottom panel 16, front panel 18 andrear panel 20. Front panel 18 has a rear face opposite rear panel 20 andalso has a front face facing cooler door 12. Tray 14 is open at the topto receive containers. The rear tray panel 20 and end panels 22, 24 eachhave a height sufficient for preventing a container from tipping as thedoor is opened or closed. Front panel 18 preferably extends upward frombottom panel 16 a greater distance than rear panel 20 to accommodate afront display panel 32.

Referring to FIG. 4, a rear display panel 26 may be attached to the rearface of rear panel 20 by an adhesive or the like. More preferably, rearpanel 20 has top and bottom flanges or lips 28, 30 that form a slot forslidably receiving rear display panel 26 that is inserted in the slot.Similarly, front panel 18 may also have a front display panel 32 heldbetween top and bottom lips 34, 36 that form a slot for slidablyreceiving front display panel 32.

Referring to FIGS. 1-3, means are provided for attaching tray 14 to theinside surface of cooler door 12 which includes left and right flanges38, 40. Left flange 38 has at least one, but preferably two, openings 42for receiving a stud or protrusion of a suction cup 44 and is attachedto left end panel 22 adjacent rear panel 20. A left brace 46 along thetop end of left flange 38 and front panel 18 stiffens left end panel 22and left flange 38. Opening 42 is preferably a slotted opening larger atthe bottom than the top.

Similarly, right flange 40 has at least one, but preferably two,openings 48 for receiving a stud or protrusion of a suction cup 50 andis attached to right end panel 24 adjacent rear panel 20. A right brace52 along the top end of right flange 40 and front panel 18 stiffensright end panel 24 and right flange 40. Opening 48 is preferably aslotted opening larger at the bottom than the top.

Left flange 38 extends from left end panel 22 inward toward right endpanel 24. Right flange 40 extends form right end panel 24 inward towardleft end panel 22. By this construction, shelf devices can be mountedside by side on the inside of a cooler door to display different sets ofproduct.

It is advantageous for each product on the shelf device to have adedicated area, therefore, a partition 54 is provided to divide tray 14a plurality of compartments. Partition 54 is preferably adjacent frontpanel 20 dividing bottom panel 16 into compartments. Preferably,partition 54 is a double walled panel forming an interior slot forslidably receiving an insert 56. Alternatively, insert 56 may be a decalor other panel that is affixed to a surface of partition 54. Forcylindrical beverage containers, partition 54 may be an arcuate panelwhere the arcuate panel is double walled forming an interior slot forslidably receiving insert 56. For other container configurations, thepartition shape may be adjusted to accommodate the containerconfiguration.

While the invention has been described with particular reference to thepreferred embodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the artthat various changes may be made and equivalents may be substituted forelements of the preferred embodiments without departing from invention.For example, while it is anticipated that the shelf device will beintegrally molded of transparent plastic, opaque plastic could be usedwhere transparency is not necessary for viewing product information. Itis accordingly intended that the claims shall cover all suchmodifications and applications as do not depart from the true spirit andscope of the invention.

ELEMENT LIST

-   10 shelf device-   12 upright cooler door-   14 tray-   16 tray bottom panel-   18 tray front panel-   20 tray rear panel-   22 tray left end panel-   24 tray right end panel-   26 rear display panel-   28 top lip of rear panel-   30 bottom lip of rear panel-   32 front display panel-   34 top lip of front panel-   36 bottom lip of front panel-   38 left flange-   40 right flange-   42 opening in left flange-   44 left suction cup-   46 left brace-   48 opening in right flange-   50 right suction cup-   52 right brace-   54 partition-   56 insert

1. A shelf device for an inside surface of a cooler door, comprising: atray having a bottom panel, opposed front and rear panels connected toand extending upward from said bottom panel, and opposed end panelsconnected to and extending upward from said bottom panel and extendingfrom said front panel toward said rear panel; a partition adjacent saidfront panel dividing said bottom panel into a plurality of compartments;and means for attaching said tray to said inside surface of said coolerdoor with said rear panel adjacent said inside surface of said coolerdoor.
 2. A shelf device, as set forth in claim 1, wherein means forattaching said tray to said inside surface of said cooler door includes:a left flange having at least one opening for receiving a hanging deviceand being attached to said left end panel adjacent said rear panel andabove said bottom panel; and a right flange having at least one openingfor receiving a hanging device and being attached to said right endpanel adjacent said rear panel and above said bottom panel.
 3. A shelfdevice, as set forth in claim 2, wherein said hanging device is asuction cup.
 4. A shelf device, as set forth in claim 2, wherein saidleft flange extends from said left end panel inward towards said rightend panel, and said right flange extends from said right end panelinward towards said left end panel.
 5. A shelf device, as set forth inclaim 4, including: a left brace connected to said front panel and a topedge of said left flange; and a right brace connected to said frontpanel and a top edge of said right flange.
 6. A shelf device, as setforth in claim 1, wherein said front panel extends upward from saidbottom panel a greater distance than said rear panel.
 7. A shelf device,as set forth in claim 1, wherein said front panel includes top andbottom lips forming a slot for slidably receiving a front insert.
 8. Ashelf device, as set forth in claim 1, wherein said rear panel includestop and bottom lips forming a slot for slidably receiving a rear insert.9. A shelf device, as set forth in claim 1, wherein said partition is anarcuate panel.
 10. A shelf device, as set forth in claim 9, wherein saidarcuate panel is double walled forming an interior slot for slidablyreceiving an insert.
 11. A shelf device, as set forth in claim 1,wherein said partition is double walled forming an interior slot forslidably receiving an insert.